Katja Pt. 18

They unpacked and cleaned up, then the kids gave the cats the presents they had picked up for them. It wasn't much, mainly small stuffed toys they could chase when they played with them. But like with people, it was really the thought that counted.

They all relaxed for a while, then they made dinner and afterwards they watched TV for a while.

Erik walked outside to check on things and check on the pond filter. Geoff had followed him like normal and they both thought this was good. Geoff would ask his father questions normally and Erik would answer him if he knew the answer, if not, after they went in, he would look up what Geoff asked and let him know.

Erik had picked up the skimmer and was removing some leaves and grass that had blown into the pond and as he did, Geoff sighed.

Erik looked down at him and asked, "Why the big sigh Geoff? Something the matter?"

Geoff looked up at his father, then said, "I sort of miss Gesa I guess, we spent so much time together this past week and we had so much fun."

Erik smiled gently at him, "That's understandable, you are good friends and like each other a lot. It's something we all go through I guess; I know when I had to go out to the other town, I missed your mom and you kids."

Geoff sighed again, "I know, and I can talk to her, but it's not the same as being with her."

Erik was about to say something, when he noticed Geoff smiling where just a few seconds earlier he wasn't. Geoff giggled, "She misses me too."

Erik grinned, "Let me guess, she heard you since we were talking about her."

Geoff giggled once more and nodded.

"Well, you'll see her on Monday, everyone has a lot of things to do since we just got back."

Geoff nodded, then they both went back inside.

The next day was taken up with doing things they needed to do since they had been gone. They went food shopping, washed clothes and did all the normal things they did on Sundays. Mainly it was just the normal upkeep things that all people have to do.

Afterwards, the kids played with the cats and on their computers. Brigette and Geoff took care of their chores, then after they had lunch Helen, Azlan and their kids stopped over as did Tony and Ariel and their kids a bit later. They talked for a while as the kids played out in the backyard, then since they missed the normal Saturday get together, they ordered in some pizza and had dinner.

Over the next few weeks, Erik started going over the information that was available on the Avianne's and Kannite's. The info was quite extensive and filed under different categories; history and backgrounds of the species, their visits to earth and other planets, plus plenty of things on the people themselves.

By the time Erik had finished, he thought he had a handle on most things, though he did sit and talk with other Lyonness to get a more personal outlook. The info on the network gave him a lot of info on them, but he also wanted real life opinions. He kept notes on what he learned to make it easier to see if he would just have to just modify his training classes, or if he'd need to rewrite them.

After going over everything, he decided that the classes themselves weren't going to be any different really. They would need the same info on humans and applying for citizenship like the Lyonness did. He would have to change up a few things once he met them and talked to Bill Sharpe and maybe Joseph once he took over Bills job.

The Kannite's seem basically the same as the Lyonness, they had canine features like the Lyonness had feline. It may have been different if they were the same as they were when they first came to earth, both they and the Lyonness looked more canine and feline. But after all the time had passed, they were defiantly more humanoid.

The Avianne's were another story, they definitely looked more human, but they still had wings. Granted, just as the others had evolved to look more humanoid, they had also, but people still may take them for angels. He hoped the humans had progressed enough not to think that, but from the pictures in the files, he could see how they were probably mistaken as them or other things from mythology, like harpies. Likewise, the Kannite's might have been taken for something like werewolves at one time.

Here on earth, they might not be able to fly like on their home-world, the gravity was greater here. He thought they still might be able to soar or glide if they went off a tall building or something, but to take off from the ground, he doubted they still be able to.

He had also looked at other files on the others who weren't coming to earth to settle due to environmental or other reasons. He had sat back in his chair and sipped on his coffee wondering how many others that came here affected other cultures at the time. The first couple of landings had been in the Mediterranean area, so had affected the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans along with other people in the general area. Some of the others had also explored the Americas, both north and south, along with the African continent and Europe.

This seemed to make sense to him, as he'd seen some of the ruins from the Mayan and Incas, along with some from the American Indian cultures.

He grinned to himself as he remembered all the shows he had watched on TV before the Lyonness had landed. They had always said the indigenous people had to be influenced by other worldly people. He took a drink of coffee and snorted a laugh, nothing he had read disproved that, it actually proved it.

Granted, what he read said the people that were in those areas, were the ones that weren't settling here on earth due to the environmental reasons. He remembered them saying on one of the shows that carvings and statues that had be discovered looked like someone wearing a type of space suit, from what he read, they were.

He drank off the rest of his coffee and started to wrap up for the day. He was going to ride over to the public works offices and see if Katja was done, she was helping Azlan and Tony with turning everything over to them for the garage. Then they'd go and pick up the kids from the, well I guess you could call it a daycare center, that Katja and Ariel's mom, along with Allie, ran.

It was kind of like the learning center, they looked after the younger children while the parents were working. They had the kids playing different games, read stories to them, both Lyonness and human, plus taught them different arts and crafts to keep them busy. The kids ranged from Lyonness, mixed species, along with some human children whose parents worked in town. The children loved it as they learned more fun things than they did during the school year.

He parked the cart in front of the public works garage and walked to the office. He waved to quite a few people he knew, stopping to say hi to some of them. He walked into the office and up to were Katja had her back to him. He leaned down and kissed her neck and she turned and smiled as she stood and hugged him.

She grinned, "You're here early, all done for the day?"

Erik nodded, "Yeah, I didn't have a lot today, I'm just about finished going through all the files. You just about done?"

She nodded, "Maybe another fifteen, twenty minutes. I wanted to clean a few things up before I turned them over to Azlan."

Erik nodded, then looked around, "Speaking of him, where's he and Tony at?"

Katja smiled, "Their riding around checking on a few jobs." She looked up at the clock, "They should be back in a few."

Erik nodded and sat down in front of her desk, "Anything I can help with hon?"

She shook her head no, "I'm just about done, just sorting things right now so Azlan can find the info faster."

Erik nodded and sat back as the talked about the cruise they were leaving on in a few days. "Did uncle Geoff say what time the shuttle was going to take us down to meet the ship?"

Katja looked up from her computer screen, "He said it was going to be in the morning, we'll get in a little early, but the shuttle has to head to New Tygris after it drops us off to bring some things to them."

Erik nodded, "Good, it's better to be a little early, than to have to rush around."

She had just finished when Azlan and Tony walked in. Azlan grinned as he saw Erik, "I hope you're not stopping her from getting me the info she promised. You here for a reason, or just goofing off?"

Erik laughed as he stood, "Bit of both really." He shook Azlan and Tony's hands as they laughed also. "Actually, I'm here to get my mate and then pick up the kids. I got tired of reading files all day."

They talked for a few more minutes while Katja shut everything down, then they headed out over to the small learning center. They walked in and greeted Katja's and Ariel's mom, and Allie.

They got a hug from Gesa, Bryan, Kendra, Bryan, Terresa and Liam. Plus, some hello's and waves from the other children they knew.

Then Gesa gave Geoff a hug, and Brigette gave Bryan one also. They gathered all the children's things and they headed home. They were greeted like normal by the feline members of the family, then everyone got cleaned up and changed. After dinner, Erik and Katja started collecting things to pack up as they'd be living the day after tomorrow on Saturday. Katja's parents had decided to stay at the house instead of bringing the kids and cats to their place, Ariel's parents were going to do the same, they all figured it was easier in the long run.

Saturday morning, they drove to New Lyonn and met the rest there, Katja's parents had drove over earlier and they said goodbye to the kids. There were long hugs from the kids as this was going to be the longest time apart from them since they were born. Erik had made a few trips, but Katja hadn't and she was a little tearful as she hugged the children, then her mom and dad.

They walked up to Tony and Ariel, and it was apparent that Ariel was feeling the same as Katja. As they talked, uncle Geoff and Victoria drove over from their place with their bags in the back of the golf cart uncle Geoff used to get around the town and back and forth to his office.

They all greeted one another, then waited a few minutes as they brought out one of the ship shuttles. The crew helped them load them and their bags, along with some crates and boxes that were going to New Tygris before they came back from dropping them off.

They had to wait for about fifteen minutes, then they got clearance to take off and they were on the way to Miami. The flight wasn't bad, it took them a little less than two hours and they landed at the airport in the area reserved for private planes. They had already arranged for a van to take them to the pier they were leaving from, and it was waiting for them. Once they were all seated, it took them about forty minutes to get there and went into the terminal to check in.

They were greeted and welcomed to Miami, then they got assigned their cabins and the girl taking care of them smiled, "I have some good news for you Mr. Woodes, we were able to assign you all to cabins that have been updated with Lyonn Ultrasonic shower units. About a third of the ship has been recently updated."

Uncle Geoff and the girls were thrilled to hear that, they had brought supplies to use the normal showers, but this would make it easier.

Erik smiled and thanked her, "I was hoping you'd be able to, I had read that your cruise line was in the process of doing it."

The girl nodded, "Yes, we plan on updating all the ships, it cuts down on the costs and availability of fresh water."

Erik nodded, "Yes, I suppose it would, I'm ex-Navy, so I know how it works, we were on water-hours a bunch of times."

She smiled, "Well then, I guess your also looking forward to making a cruise without having to work then."

Erik and Tony both laughed at that, and nodded. She gave them their boarding passes and cabin key cards, and she tagged their luggage. "If you could, please proceed to the boarding lounge to wait, and your bags will be delivered to your cabins sometime after departure."

Erik nodded, he had checked on this and each couple had a small carry-on bag with a change of clothes and other essentials to bring on with them. The website had said it could take some time for the bags to be delivered depending on the cabin location.

They all thanked her and followed the signs to the lounge. While they waited, they all looked through the racks of pamphlets for the islands and other places they were stopping at. It had recommendations on things to see and do and info on the islands themselves. Much like with the baggage, Erik had downloaded the info beforehand, so they knew pretty much what they were going to see and do.

They waited about hour, then their deck was called to board the ship. They were all together on the same deck and section, so once they got to the cabins, Erik said, "We should be leaving in another hour, we're going up on deck after we check the cabin out. Anyone want to join us?"

The rest nodded yes, and said they'd meet them. Erik smiled, "Ok then, we'll see you in a bit." Then he and Katja headed into the cabin, it was a small suite, sort of like a high-end hotel room with an ocean view and balcony, and it had three rooms, bedroom, living area and bath room.

Katja looked around, her eyes wide as she took it all in. She smiled at her mate, and said, "This is beautiful love. I can't believe how nice it is."

Erik grinned and pulled her to him, "Well, since neither of us have ever been on a cruise, or at least nothing like this, I splurged a bit. I wanted you to enjoy yourself kitten."

She smiled as he called her kitten, and kissed him. "Do I want to know how much it cost?"

Erik laughed, "Ah, no, I don't think so. But your worth it."

She purred as she melted against him and kissed him again. "I love it and I love you my mate. I'm so glad we did this, I'm going to miss the children, but it won't be that long."

Erik nodded as he kissed her back, "Well, we can talk and video chat with them every night, so it won't be that bad."

He hugged her and said, "Come on, lets but the bag away, and we can go up on deck to watch us get underway."

She smiled and kissed him once more, then they put the carry on in the bedroom and made their way up to the observation deck.

As they were walking up, they passed others settling in and like normal, they drew attention. Erik was in jeans and a short sleeve black dress shirt, and Katja wore one her favorite sun dresses. Erik smiled as he saw the looks, she looked beautiful as always and her tail swished back and forth as they walked. Even after all the years they had been together, she was still the most beautiful female he knew. She held his arm and her fur was soft and smooth as always, and her scent was driving him crazy. He leaned down and kissed her, "You smell wonderful kitten."

She grinned as she kissed him back, "Of course, I'm happy and I'm holding my mates' arm. I'm also thinking about what I'll be doing to him later." She kissed him again, and licked his ear.

Erik shivered and grinned himself, "I'm looking forward to it."

They made their way up to the deck, and about fifteen minutes later, the others joined them. The girls all exclaimed on how nice the cabins were and how they were looking forward to this. Tony and Erik grinned, the Erik said, "Well, at least we finally don't have to work once we stop."

Tony and uncle Geoff laughed, then Geoff said, "And I don't have anything to do myself. First the family vacation, now this, they better watch, I might get to use to it."

Tony nodded, "We all needed it, but especially you two."

The girls attracted attention again, and quite a few people stopped to ask questions. Erik was surprised that a lot of them were from other countries. He guessed that it should have been expected, the people here in the states knew about them more than other countries did.

Then he smiled, like normal, it was the children that had the most questions. Both Ariel and Katja would stoop down to talk to them, and Erik could tell it was because they both missed their kids. He saw the wistful look on Victoria's face, he knew that uncle Geoff and her were trying to have children. He looked at uncle Geoff and saw the same look.

He sent out a silent request to Briast, "Will they ever have children?"

He felt a familiar warmth, "Yes Erik, the time just wasn't right before now, they both had to many things to do." Then he grinned as she giggled, "But I believe the time is close, that's why they decided to come with you and the others at the last minute. But don't mention it to them, I want to surprise them."

He grinned wider, "Your wish is my command Goddess." He felt a kiss and a caress and then she was gone. He smiled like normal, he really loved her. The he felt a well-known warmth, and heard, "Be careful my love, two mates are enough, a third may kill you."

He grinned, and thought, "Yes dear." Brigit hugged him, then he felt another kiss, but this one was on the lips and he almost collapsed against the railing. Then he heard, "That should keep your mind off Briast for a while." Then the warmth was gone. Luckily, none of the others saw or heard.

Every time She did that to him, it felt like he was making love to Katja. He often wondered if it wasn't exactly that.

Katja came up and twined her arm with his and looked at him slightly concerned, "You alright love?"

Erik nodded, "I'm fine kitten, I just found out something. I'll tell you later when we're alone."

She cocked her head and looked closely at him, slightly confused, then she nodded okay.

They stayed up on deck for about an hour or so and watched as the ship got underway. As he watched, Erik thought, "It's not much different than when ships I was on did it." Tugs helped get them away from the dock until they were clear of everything and far enough away so the wake didn't pound against the dock. Then the tugs moved out of the way, and the ship started to move under its own power. They watched until they were in the clear and the girls jumped as the ships horn gave three blasts, and they were underway.

They watched for a little longer, then decided to head down to their cabins for a bit until it was time for lunch. Once Erik and Katja got to the cabin, she asked what had happened. Erik grinned and patted the couch next to him. She sat down and he said, "No problem really, but I have it on good authority, that Uncle Geoff and Victoria are going to be expecting soon."

Katja grinned happily, "And which "authority" let you know that?"

Erik grinned, "Briast of course, she giggled when she told me and asked me not to say anything, She wants it to be a surprise. Apparently, they were too busy until now."

Katja laughed, "That's wonderful, I'm so happy for them. I know they want children and I know Victoria asked Helen about it."

Erik nodded, "Briast said that's why they decided at the last minute to come with us, I guess She put the idea in their heads."

Katja nodded. "Makes sense, but why did you look so... worn out all of the sudden?"

Erik blushed, "Well... you know how I feel about Her, when I thought it after She left, I was told, "Be careful, two mates are enough, a third may kill you." He looked at his mate, "Then Brigit kissed me saying, "That should keep your mind off Briast for a while."

He blushed even more, "I felt weak and slumped against the rail."

Katja looked at him, this always was a difficult thing, she didn't really mind, it's not like it was a physical thing. She also understood it more each time it happened. She cocked her head and said, "She's right, I'll share you with Her, but that's where I draw the line."

She pulled him close to hold him, then kissed him until he melted against her and became even more weak. She grinned, "That should hold you to later. But you better rest up, it's going to get loud, very loud." She held up her hand and her claws snicked out, "I even had these done before we left so I don't tear your back up. Too much, that is."